Yesterday the weather was a little bit dull. However, we went on our planned route into France through the Portalet mountain pass and ended up in the Hautes-Pyrenees in Betharram, where in 1903 they discovered a great network of caves. You park the car and then are taken by bus to the entrance. There's a warning; the temperature inside the caves is 13º C. You are led by a guide in a uniform which looks as if it has been handed down for many years, complete with a black beret. The caves are long and deep. There are stairs which go down about 400 metres, I think they said. Stalagmites and stalactites, funny rock formations, a ceiling formed by being a river bed, short boat ride and finally a train ride to the café and gift shop. About an hour and a half. I didn't take photos, so I've put a link for their website.
http://www.betharram.com/
The gift-shop is a pretty modernist building. Next to it was a nice picnic shelter where we could sit and eat our sandwiches. Betharran is a two-hour drive from Jaca, through beautiful, very green landscape.
Sunday morning was bright and we went to France again, this time up the Aragón valley to Le Somport for an easy walk around the cross-country ski circuit. It's a lovely place for picking (just a few) raspberries, blueberries and occasionally wild strawberries.
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| raspberries |
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| fern |
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| blueberries |
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| a lonesome pine |
Today, this is obviously the flight path for a lot of planes!
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| The mountain in the background is La Raca, in Astún |
This vapour trail was spectacular.
Today, this is obviously the flight path for a lot of planes!
This vapour trail was spectacular.
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